(Photo courtesy of car stations.com)
WESTFIELD – With green energy initiatives springing up all over the Commonwealth emphasizing the transitioning away from fossil fuels towards renewable forms of electricity, institutions such as Westfield Gas and Electric are beginning to look into such measures as implementing charging stations in the city for hybrid and electric automobiles.
“As we go through renovations to the Gaslight District, the G&E is looking at siting electric and L&G fueling stations,” said Mayor Daniel M. Knapik.
Sean Fitzgerald, energy specialist and customer liaison for the G&E, said they are “really looking” at research being conducted on charging stations.
“The G&E has put more than $2 million into efficiency (in the city),” he said, adding that the G&E has given $50,000 to retrofit such municipal buildings as City Hall.
“We got started with a grant a few years ago,” said William Dwight, Northampton’s city council president. “We have stations in our parking garages, at City Hall, near the Police Department.”
Northampton’s Director of Facilities David Pomerantz was able to expand on Dwight’s assessment, saying that the grant was issued through the state, and resulted in the installation of eight dual head stations.
“They were put around the city in different locations to expose the public,” he said. “To get people thinking about and understanding different energy options.”
Pomerantz said that it is the city’s hope that businesses may eventually install stations in front of their locations, due to the positive response the city has received.
“They get used a lot,” he said, adding that the city can track how much juice is being used by residents and visitors.
David Tuohey, the director of external affairs for the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company, and organization who works closely with the Massachusetts Electric Vehicle Initiative, stated that, when implementing electric stations, it’s about three words: location, location, location.
“Charging stations need to be placed strategically,” he said, stressing the importance of keeping a thumb on the pulse of local regulations when considering implementing the stations.
“It’s a different process in each locality,” Tuohey said. “Cost, placement. How they (the stations) will function is determined by how much use they might get. So the decision making is different in every city or town. Because the G&E is a city-owned utility, it’ll be a local decision.”
The centralized location of the Gaslight District, an area of downtown located between Elm and Washington streets and between Franklin and Court streets, could prove to be a fine general vicinity for charging stations, but may require the city to look into it’s parking ordinances, as Northampton had to.
“We had to revamp our ordinances, as we have parking spots designated for vehicles that are charging,” Pomerantz said. “We also did a survey of other municipalities on how they changed their ordinances, and everyone said ‘we put stations in, but hadn’t revamped our ordinances.'”
Regarding important steps a city like Westfield can take to ensure the viability of electric charging stations, Pomerantz said the structure of the stations implemented is important, as is the organization and governance of the project.
“Use stations with retractable arm systems for fueling, so that arms aren’t strewn on the ground or in snowbanks,” he said. “And one aspect that is really key, I recommend finding a number of stakeholders at the table to choose locations (for the stations). We had myself, the police department, city officials.”
